Byron Pickett

Infobox afl player NEW
playername = Byron Pickett
fullname = Byron Pickett


image capt = Byron Pickett
birthdate = Birth date and age|1977|8|11|df=y
birthplace = Kellerberrin, Western Australia
originalteam = Port Adelaide (SANFL)
draftpick =
heightweight = 178cm / 84kg
position =
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
currentclub =
guernsey =
years = 1997 – 2002
2003 – 2005
2006 – 2007
clubs = North Melbourne
Port Adelaide
Melbourne
games(goals) = 120 (81)
55 (80)
29 (16)
coach = notcoach
coachingteams =
statsend = 2007
careerhighlights =

* AFL Rising Star award 1998
* State of Origin (South Australia) 1998
* All-Australian 1999
* Premiership player 1999, 2004
* Norm Smith Medal 2004
* Indigenous Team of the Century

Byron Pickett (born 11 August 1977) is a indigenous Australian rules footballer known for his strength, hard bumps and tough approach to the game. He retired from the AFL in 2007, but continues his career in the SANFL with the Port Adelaide Magpies.

At only 178 cm and 86 kg, Pickett is not a large Australian Rules player, however he is solidly built and unquestionably tough. Despite developing a reputation as an unfair or 'dirty' player for his aggressive attack on the ball and the man, he has only been suspended three times since 2001. [ [http://www.fanfooty.com.au/players/profile.php?firstname=Byron&surname=Pickett 'Byron Pickett Profile'] ] In 2005 Pickett was acknowledged as one of the finest Aboriginal players in the history of the game, with his selection to the Indigenous Team of the Century. [ [http://www.aflpa.com.au/index.cfm?id=70AD6E87-CA35-7E9D-83093BD7E91B1630 'AFL names Indigenous Team of the Century'] ]

Early career

Born in Kellerberrin in country Western Australia, he grew up in Taman and then Geraldton, Western Australia before moving to South Australia and Port Lincoln where he played the majority of his junior football for the Mallee Park Football Club. He made the long trip each weekend to Adelaide, where he was later to play for the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL from which he was recruited by AFL club North Melbourne.

AFL career

North Melbourne Football Club

Nicknamed "Choppy", Pickett burst onto the scene in 1997 with the North Melbourne Football Club , playing only one game. However, in 1998 he had a fine year and was rewarded with the Norwich Rising Star award.

In 1999 he played in a premiership team with the Kangaroos, before switching to the club he originally played for in the SANFL, Port Adelaide Football Club, in 2002.

Port Adelaide Power

He was part of Port Adelaide's first ever AFL premiership in 2004, his eye-catching 3-goal, 20 possession performance [ [http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/games/2004/BLPA20040925.html '2004 Grand Final statistics'] ] earning him the Norm Smith Medal for best afield. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1207185.htm 'Pickett claims Norm Smith medal'] ]

Melbourne

At the end of 2005, Pickett was involved in a trade that saw him play at the Melbourne Football Club from 2006 onwards, and he has vowed not to alter his style of play. He wears No 33, previously worn by former aboriginal player Jeff Farmer who currently plays for Fremantle (Still No 33).

In a round 7, 2006 clash with Fremantle at the MCG, Pickett sent Ryan Crowley to hospital with a broken cheekbone [ [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21238605-2722,00.html 'Head Rule Strikes At Injuries'] ] in a shepherd.

Pickett suffered successive hamstring injuries in 2006 which sidelined him for several games.

2007 began slowly for Pickett, not selected in the initial rounds due to poor pre-season match fitness. However he returned in Round 4 and on 5 May 2007, laid a strong tackle on Port Adelaide's Kane Cornes left Cornes concussed and taken from the ground on a stretcher.

After round 6 in 2007, the Demons suspending Pickett to a minimum of four weeks at the Sandringham Football Club for the official reason of failing to attend a game. Unofficially, there were clubs concerns surrounding Pickett's weight and pre-season work ethic and him turning up to training under the influence of alcohol. [ [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21748013-11088,00.html 'Pickett wants back in'] ]

Byron Pickett said that he will play his last game of football on Sunday 2nd of September, in the match against Carlton, retiring along with Demons teammates Clint Bizzell and Nathan D. Brown. He kicked a goal in his final game against the Blues.

Controversy

In 1999, Pickett crashed into Hawthorn's Brendan Krummel while his head was down to get the ball. In the bump, Pickett broke Krummel's nose, he was concussed and had short-term amnesia. A free kick was awarded but no official charge from the AFL. Despite his injuries, Krummel publicly defended Pickett's actions.

In 2000, Byron was admitted to a mental health clinic with fears of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other mental illnesses. Pickett was released from the clinic with reports that his mental health was fine. However, a certain amount of controversy still circles around the issue.

In the last days of his playing career with North Melbourne, he famously broke Darren Millburn's collarbone in a violent clash. Steven Silvagni, who was commentating the match for TV, commented that Millburn should have been more aware of surrounding players. This was in reference to Millburn effectively ending Silvagni's career the previous year knocking him out.

In 2005 he received 6 weeks for a clash which accidentally knocked out James Begley in a pre-season match with both players chasing for the ball. The incident sparked controversy and in response many football commentators, including premiership player Robert Walls called to ban the bump. Many cynics felt that Pickett had been singled out over the incident and his style of play unfairly made an example of, with the rules changing in response to the incident.

He received 2 weeks for a hip-and-shoulder on Carlton's Simon Wiggins as he completed a mark, after slowing down and pulling up to reduce the collision. Later in the season, a bump on Adelaide Football Club's Rhett Biglands knocked the 104 kg ruckman out cold, seeing Biglands stretchered from the field [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1458535.htm 'Pickett off the hook for Biglands bump'] ] . Biglands recovered, returned and played later in that match.

Pickett has also made numerous appearances in court related to drink-driving offences. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/sa/port/200410/s1220265.htm 'Pickett charged over car accident'] ]

In 2007 Pickett was suspended by Melbourne for failing to turn up to a game against the Western Bulldogs in which he was a listed emergency. It was later revealed he sent a phone text message to his coach Neale Daniher to inform him that he was too hungover to play. [ [http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,,21739421-23211,00.html?from=public_rss 'Pickett Too Hungover To Play'] ]

Post AFL Career

Following his AFL retirement, he was rumoured to be approached by several Victorian country football clubs including Port Fairy in the Warrnambool league. However he signed with the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL for 2008 and 2009 [ [http://www.portmagpies.com.au/news.php?news_id=223 Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club ] ] , enabling him to once again play for his former club.

ee also

*List of Australian rules football incidents

External links

*AflRleague|ref=B/Byron_Pickett.html

Notes